Category Archives: special districts

2 Keys Why Farmers Oppose Eminent Domain by a Special District for Power Lines

  • blanket opposition to the use of eminent domain
  • opposition to eminent domain that adds a new layer of power lines as opposed to upgrading existing power lines
    • power lines increase farming costs by  $200 an acre per year
    • power lines increase the dangers of crop dusting

Where is this happening? California

What’s the special district using eminent domain? Sacramento Municipal Utility District

Why does this matter? The issue is the same in Texas for any private entity that needs to…

How a $244K property payment by a Sewer District became a $12M property owner award + $4M in attorney fees.

What’s this eminent domain case about? New York’s Rockland County Sewer District No. 1 needs to build a new wastewater treatment facility & sought to acquire 21 acres.

What did the court decide? The property is worth $8,100,000 plus $4,762,187 interest, a total of $12,877,061. PLUS, the court awarded $$3,375,000  in legal and appraisal fees.

What did the sewer district estimate the cost of the project to be?  $72 Million. After this court case, the project estiamte is $181…

Deadline to Report Eminent Domain Power Fast Approaching. 5 Things to Know About Eminent Domain Transparency.

  • Online eminent domain database was created by SB 1812 (Kolkhorst & Geren)
  • All entities with eminent domain authority, public & private, can begin reporting on December 7th. The Form will be here. 
  • Deadline for reporting is February 1, 2016.
  • Comptroller recommends that entities with eminent domain authority designate one officer or employee as point of contact for current eminent domain information
  • 10 Pieces of Information will be online:
    • the entity’s full legal name;
    • the…

2015 House Interim Charges. Property Rights. Spans 6 Committees.

Eminent Domain

Private Property Rights | Asset Forfeiture | Annexation | Special Districts

THE HOUSE INTERIM CHARGES

  • Business & Industry: whether property owner associations restrict property rights
  • Criminal Jurisprudence: civil asset forfeiture & data reporting
  • Culture, Recreation & Tourism: protecting private property rights on the San Marcos River
  • Defense & Veterans Affairs: private property rights, seller disclosures & military bases.
  • Land & Resource Management: beach erosion…

Public Use Question Stops Land Development on Unanimous Vote. 3 Reasons Why.

  • Does a development project, that receives, some public financing qualify the entity to use eminent domain in Arkansas?
    • No one at the Little Rock Tech Park Authority knew for sure.
    • But, a former elected official, of the Democrat persuasion, put of staunch resistance to eminent domain authority
  • What’s the problem for them with using eminent domain? 
    • Costs more money to use eminent domain than to negotiate
    • Any time spent in court fighting over eminent domain costs the project time and…

Lege Trend: 3 Steps to New Way to Fight Blight. Cities Attacked 3 Ways for Private Property Rights.

The Golden State this week created new, limited redevelopment agencies to fight blight.

What limited powers do the blight fighting redevelopment agencies have?

  • limit the applicable projects to affordable housing, hazardous waste cleanup and other projects in disadvantaged communities
  • Only permit less tax money to be used
  • Limit the use only in economically distressed areas

What does opposition say?

  • The new, limited redevelopment system is a land grab by local governments
  • Oppose…

NFL Stadium Backers Gain Eminent Domain on Unanimous Vote

St. Louis NFL backers gained the power of eminent domain this week when the Regional Sports Authority voted unanimously to allow for eminent domain.

The Regional Sports Authority Chairman said he did not expect to use eminent domain, but it is available if necessary.

The new Riverfront stadium is in the planning stage and has spent $9 million with “no commitment from any NFL owner… to invest $250 million in the plan.” Whther the Rams stay or go is anticipated to be announced by the NFL…

UPDATE Trump, the Widow, Eminent Domain, CATO & Washington Post

Once upon a time, Trump sought to use eminent domain against a widow’s home to obtain land to build a limo parking lot. Today the story is on the front of the Washington Post Style Section.

CATO: Donald Trump, Eminent Domain, and the Widow’s House

Washington Post: The time Donald Trump’s empire took on a stubborn widow — and lost

 

Information Intelligence Ausgust 27, 2015:

CATO, the libertarian leaning think tank, sounding the horn on Donald Trump and his reliance on eminent…

Houston Churches Battling Eminent Domain

Two 5th ward churches are in a brewing eminent domain battle over property that the Houston Housing Authority would like to develop for low income housing and a library. This story has it all- historic churches, a wheel chair bound pastor, and a city relying on recommendations from the neighborhood itself.

The churches: 

  • First Christian Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church
  • Latter Day Deliverance Revival Church

The legal actions:

  • The churches, representated by the Liberty Institute, are…

Trump & Eminent Domain. 3 Highlights from Michelle Malkin Column.

A 2011 Michelle Malkin column ties Donalad Trump to eminent domain abuses. The highlights:

  • “Too many mega-developers like Trump have achieved success by using and abusing the government’s ability to commandeer private property for purported “public use.”‘
  • “Trump has shown reckless disregard for fundamental private property rights. In the 1990s, he waged a notorious war on elderly homeowner Vera Coking, who owned a little home in Atlantic City that stood in the way of Trump’s manifest land…